My Crazy Faith

[I originally posted this on one of my other blogs , Oct. 2021] So   according to this article , it appears that scientists have found evidence of the type of biblical destruction that happened to Sodom.  They say they found a town that was destroyed by a blast of heat so hot that it pretty much melted everything.  They say that there's no earthly natural heat source that could do this, so they speculate that it must have been an asteroid that exploded over the town, melting everything.  Oh, and they speculate that the reason no one lived there afterward was that the asteroid impact might have brought over so much salt from the nearby Dead Sea that nothing could grow.  This, they say, must be what inspired people to make up the story of Sodom in the Bible. But I say that here's your "asteroid," scientists: "The Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the Lord out of the heavens.  Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, incl...

So it's Halloween time again, huh?  Is it just me, or has there been a big increase in the amount of Halloween decorations in people's yards? I don't decorate for Halloween, nothing more than maybe a few pumpkins.  But a neighbor and I were talking the other day, and she inadvertently stumbled on what I think would make the best Halloween decoration.  Something truly terrifying.  And if I had more guts, I'd maybe consider doing it someday. She was reading out loud some reported quotes from famous atheists just before their death, and I thought Now that would make a scary Halloween display in your yard, a collection of tombstones with atheist quotes on them!    Quotes such as these: David Strauss , who spread German rationalism to erase people's belief in God: "My philosophy leaves me utterly forlorn!  I feel like one caught in the merciless jaws of an automatic machine, not knowing at what time one of its great hammers may crush me!" Thomas Paine , at...

[updated April 2024] For the 6 years that the new Calvinist pastor was at our church, subtly teaching his Calvinism, my soul was starving.  I'm not kidding; I could feel it starving.  Shriveling up dry.  It wasn't  dying -  because I have a very strong faith, and my faith is in  God , not in some preacher - but it was starved for truth and encouragement and joy, etc.  (See  "Why Is Calvinism So Dangerous?" ) And it wasn't just because of what he was teaching, but it was also because of what he  wasn't  teaching.  He hardly talked about God's love for us, how God cares about us, how He helps us in the hard times, etc.   There was no real encouragement, compassion, grace, love,  hope, etc.  At least not in my eyes.   Instead, it was often lofty, academic knowledge for the head, hardly ever comfort for the heart.  (I think he was more "professor" than "shepherd," more "this is what I think a...